Carson Hocevar Suspended for NASCAR Cup Race at Homestead-Miami

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Spire Motorsports suspended NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar for Sunday's race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Hocevar will sit out the 2026 Cup Series season finale. Justin Haley will drive the No. 77 Chevrolet in Hocevar's absence.

Spire Motorsports announced the decision Tuesday. It comes after a contentious weekend for Hocevar at Martinsville Speedway where he was at the center of multiple incidents throughout the 500-lap Cup Series race.

"The way Carson conducted himself at Martinsville doesn't meet the standard we set for our drivers, team members or employees and there are consequences for that. That doesn't mean we don't love him and support him," Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson stated.

Hocevar's first incident happened on lap 200 when he spun exiting turn four. The spin drew criticism from some teams on pit road who accused him of spinning on purpose. 

Then, during the ensuing restart at around lap 214, Hocevar "brake-checked" drivers behind him multiple times. That included Austin Cindric, who sustained heavy front end damage that ended his day 278 laps shy of the finish. 

NASCAR didn't penalize Hocevar during the race for his actions. He finished 21st, two laps down. 

NASCAR hasn't issued any penalties – such as a fine or points – but Spire made the decision to discipline their driver instead, calling it the right decision for them.

"The easy thing would have been to leave this in NASCAR's hands and let them decide what any penalty should be. To us, however, this isn't about money or points. We believe in respect. Our integrity matters," Dickerson stated.

Hocevar earned the nickname, "The Hurricane", from lap-by-lap announcer Leigh Diffey for his on-track actions. He started the Chase with on-track incidents with Brad Keselowski at Darlington Raceway and Ryan Blaney at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he might have won if not for Ty Gibbs roughing him up at the end of the race.

On his podcast, Denny Hamlin said Gibbs' move reflected his respect for Hocevar who, Hamlin argues, wants to be more like Cleetus McFarland than Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin elaborated, explaining that he likes McFarland but that Hocevar wants to generate a following like McFarland has and sometimes makes flashy moves on the track to attract that. Hamlin said Hocevar can't do what he's doing now while expecting to reach the heights of a "Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt or Jeff Gordon."

According to Hamlin, drivers also refused to work with Hocevar at Talladega Superspeedway to protest his actions. However, he said Spire needed to do something. 

Now suspended by Spire, Hocevar won't advance beyond 12th in the points standings. He was set to enter the finale at 210 points out of the lead and only nine points away from his first-ever top-10 points finish. Missing the race means he could mathematically fall to as low as 16th – last in the Chase – in the standings.

Fill-in driver Justin Haley raced full-time for Spire in 2025 after completing the 2024 season in the No. 7 car. He also earned Spire's first Cup win in July of 2019 at Daytona International Speedway.